Improvement in school-desks and seats



NITED STATES PATENT Ormea WILLIAM A. s LAYMAKnIt, on ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 109,770, dated November 29, 1870.

- desks and similar furniture which is made in;

detachable parts; and it consists ot' certain details ot' construction, which will be fully de` scribed hereinafter.

In. the drawings, Figure l represents a side elevation of a school-desk and seat having my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2, a pari tial perspective view of the desk, taken from beneath; Fig. 3, a partial perspective view of one of the side frames with its connections;

' Fig. 4, a perspective view of the seat reversed;l

Fig. 5, a perspective view of one of the socket-l pieces detached, and Fig. 6 detached views of the socketsfor holding the legs of the desk. i,

To enable others skilled in the art to Inakei and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe fully its construction and manner of operation.

A represents the door of the room, to whiclr are secured in any proper manner the sockets B, suitably/ located to receive the projections upon the lower ends of the legs of the desk. lThese sockets are peculiarly formed. are provided with diverging inclined'sides, as is common to the sockets ot' some bedsteadfastenings, but have also, in addition to this construction, an inclined upper face, b, which may extend the entire distance from front to rear, or less, as may be desired. The projections b upon the lower ends ot' the desk-legs are made of corresponding formthat is, the wedges are inclined upon their lower faces from front to rear similarly to the upper faces of the sockets. By means of theseinclined faces b b the legs are securely held without other fastening, as all downward or backward pressure upon the desk necessarily forces the projections more tightly into the sockets, thus uniting the two parts rigidly together.

C represents the side frames, constructed of any proper design, and provided with the projections c c c2 c3, which are similar in their construction to the projections upon the lower They ends of the legs. They are also provided with extensions C for supporting the seat.

D D represent the seat-arms, which are provided with projections d d ot similar construction to those heretofore described. The rear ends of these arms rest in a slotted opening in the front of the side frames above the extension C', and are secured in place by means of a transverse pin, d', which plays in the slots c5 in the frames, as shown. By means of this slotted bearing for the pin d the seat-arm may be turned up to assume a vertical position when desired. The arms have also a greater bearing upon the side frame when in use. To

explain more fully, when the seat is in use.

the pin of the arm rises to the rear and upper end ofthe slotted bearing c5, and consequently affords the arm a longer support upon the eX tension G'; but when turned up the pin rests in the lower and front end of the slot, and permits the front end ofthe seat to be turned backward sufficiently far to assume a vertical position. To insure the holding ofthe seat in this position when desired, 'and to prevent it vfrom being accidentally thrownv down, the extreme rear end ofthe seat-arm is made straight instead of curved, its line d2 corresponding` with the line of the base upon which it rests. It desired, also, the lower end of the slot may be notched, as shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose of holding the seat-arm still more securely when it is thrown back. From this construction it will be perceived that a firm bearing is secured for the seat when in a vertical position.

E represents the seat proper, which is constructed of any suitable material, wood being preferred, and provided with sockets corresponding in their general construction to the floor-sockets already described. They are preferably formed, however, with two sockets in a single strip of metal, the sockets themselves having inclined outer sides, and being secured in place by means of a dovetailed recess in the seat, as shown. For greater security of fastening, ifdesired,the sockets maybenotched at a point just in rear of the projection upon the arm, by which means an opening will be made when the parts are in place, in which a Wedge-key may be driven to draw the parts together and hold them.

F represents the lid of the desk, which is constructed in two parts,ff, the partf being points.

provided with sockets to receive the projeclions ofthe side frames, and having hinged to it the part f.` To support the hinged lid f swinging brackets Gr are employed, which are secured bet-Ween the side ears, c6 c, of the side frames. Thelowerearorbearingof thebracket is extended rearwardly for the purpose of giving it a sufficiently rm support to resist any proper Weight which may be caused to `bear upon it. To hold tli'e brackets in place when the lid is raised, a double spring-catch, F', is employed, as shown.

H represents the back of the seat, which is constructed preferably of a board or plank bent in a suitable curve'by being partially sawed through on its rear side. Its sockets may be made similar to those already deble Vinclined projections or cams at proper Such an incline is shown at in Fig. 3. The ei'ect of this construction is to cause the outer faces of the sockets, as shown at as', to bear tightly against theinclined faces .r2 of the side frames as the sockets are forced onto the projections. The two parts are thus driven firmly together. 1t will be observed that the placing of the back in position secures the lid and prevents its removal.

I represents a shelf which rests upon suitable projecting edges on the inner side of the side frames.

J represents a board or bar secured by means of the projection, which forms, together with the shelf and side frames, a box for books, &c., and also serves to brace the desk and render it more rigid.

K represents. a shelf located beneath the openings in the lid, which is especially designed to receive pens, pencils, 85o., which may be deposited through thelid-opening. The lid'.

also may be provided, if desired, with the usual ink-well. lt will be observed that when the lid is let down its lower edge engages snugly with the upper edge ot' board J', to which it may be secured, if desired, by means of any suitable lock, in which case the contents of the desk will be secured from intrusion.

The advantages of this construction will be readily understood. The parts may be easily detached from each other for shipment and be readily replaced in position,whcn desired, Without the aid of a mechanic. The fastenings are to a certain extent self-securing, and cannot be accidentally lowered. They contribute also to the general strength and firmness of the desk. The desk .as a whole is firm and strong, and its contents can be saved when desired from the inspection of unauthorized persons. Y

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Yatent of the United States, is-

1. The fastening B described, consisting ot' wedge-shaped projections,havinginclined sides and face b, in combination with a socket correspondingly formed.

2. The projection c3 and socket y, in combination with each other and with the projecting curve or incline m2 upon the face ot' the side frame when the socket is correspondingly curved or inclined, as described.

3. The seat-arm D, constructed as described,

when movably hinged in the slotted bearings W. A. SLAYMAKER.

Witnesses:

T. E. KEMP, JOHN H. BRENT. 

